Surprising cover versions, biblical imagery, political interventions: “High Hopes” by Bruce Springsteen is a stopover in his career for better or for worse. But judge for yourselves, we present the 18 Album by Boss in exclusive pre-stream.

A new album by Bruce Springsteen, which means usually a weighty word message of the Nation; forgotten how, after the attacks of 9/11, the Springsteen album “The Rising” was eagerly awaited, as a comforter of a country taken. But this time, with “High Hopes”, 18th Album, everything is a little different.

The album project began when Springsteen friendly sound engineers and producers asked her to take even some of the older songs that were available only as demo versions. But appeared in the course of the tour for 2012 “Wrecking Ball” album won the current contours, inter alia, that the songs in the live program assumed new forms and were then taken on the go in the studio versions.

Thus, ” High Hopes ” ( the stream you will find at the end of the article) a hodgepodge , which is particularly marked by the play of the guitarists Tom Morello, of 2013 during a tour of Australia as a substitute for Springsteen’s old sidekick Steven Van Zandt to the E Street Band came when he was unable to attend because filming. Bruce Springsteen said of Morello , who has become known with the band Rage Against The Machine , he was one of the few guitarists to Create your own world : ” The E Street Band is a large house , but when Tom is on stage , he builds a new space in ” quotes him as saying the U.S. magazine ” Rolling Stone ” .

To a new version of the originally rather folky Springsteen song “The Ghost of Tom Joad ” Morello contributes two effects-laden guitar solos that would have been such a feature expected from Muse than Bruce . Otherwise, he drives two very permeable cover versions , on the one hand the title song ” High Hopes ” of the folk musician Tim Scott McConnell, Springsteen had already in 1996 published once . And , tells of the Tour life to another ” Just Like Fire Would” , a song by the Australian punk rock band The Saints , the , carefree dahingeschrammelt . Such a song would find on an ordinary Springsteen album probably no place , and it’s nice here so prominently placed to hear him.

The same goes for the cover version of “Dream Baby Dream”, from the became known for her provocative appearances in New York duo Suicide. Who would have thought that a song of this synth-punks would work as well as Springsteen anthem? In 2005, he played it for the first time live, so there is now also a very successful studio version.

Other songs would have been dispensable. Bruce Springsteen has always been appreciated for its clear lines with large figures of speech, but the biblical imagery of “Heaven’s Wall” or “This Is Your Sword” sounds somehow complex. Stronger since the dylaneske “Hunter of The Invisible Game” or the cute character studies “Frankie Fell in Love” or “Harry’s Place” – on the latter can be heard the late 2008 and 2011 E-Street Band musician Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons .

Federicis Orgelspiel prägt auch das ausgesprochen anrührende “The Wall”, das von einem Besuch Springsteens an der Erinnerungswand für die Vietnam-Veteranen in Washington handelt, und im Speziellen eine Hommage an den bewunderten Musiker Walter Cichon von den Misfits ist, einem Rockmusiker aus New Jersey, der in diesem Krieg blieb. Schon eine solche Perle rechtfertigt die Veröffentlichung eines solchen Albums, das insgesamt etwas stückwerkartig wirkt.